LAYTON, Utah — A tow truck driver from Layton is recovering this weekend after a series of surgeries after he was hit by debris while behind the wheel. Now troopers want the public's help in finding the other vehicle involved.
"One second, it’ll change your life, you know?" Tristen Schofield said of the moment his brother's life was changed forever.
Thursday around 1 p.m., 29-year-old Tyler Schofield from Layton was coming home from a work shift — employed as a tow truck driver with Dewaal & Sons — when he was hit with a piece of sheet metal, sustaining major injuries.
"It ended up going through the driver’s side window and hitting him in the face, across the face," Tristen said.
Tyler was driving north on Legacy Parkway, just before the I-15/US-89 interchange, when it happened. He was somehow able to avoid an accident on the road and pull his truck over without injuring anyone else.
"Luckily he was able to consciously steer off the road and safely park it, without tipping it or flipping it," Tristen said.
Tyler was then rushed to the hospital where he had facial reconstruction — they had to remove the right eye, tear duct repair, and a number of other procedures.
Tristen says doctors are hopeful they can save his brother's sight, but they don't know anything definitively yet.
"They do have high hopes for the one eye, but at the moment it could go either way. We’ve just gotta wait for the healing process," Tristen said.
A GoFundMe account started by a cousin to help with medical expenses has already seen donations, along with another account his employer set up for him, warning others to secure their load and possibly save a life.
Utah Highway Patrol is investigating the incident, trying to locate where this sheet metal came from, and asking anyone who may have seen anything Thursday in the area of Parish Lane to the Farmington interchange to contact them at their non-emergency dispatch number: 801-451-4150.
